A Storm of Chaos (The Hunter Legacy #1)

Chapter Thirty-Two

Kaya's eyes widened, disbelief stealing her voice. It was a weapon that reeked of death and darkness and anger, and Kaya instantly wanted to recoil from it. If she had thought that Chaos was a force of destruction, then Calamity was a force of hatred.

'I thought it only rumour,' said Noah, his eyes on the scythe. 'There is... hardly anything recorded about the Legacy, only that it was said to have had influence over Reapers. The Hunter who first wielded it, however, couldn't withstand the intensity of the Legacy and died. The Legacy was never reborn.'

'Well, I suppose it isn't the first time history failed to record the truth,' Brocard said, oblivious to the trickle of blood that fell from the corner of his eye like a tear-track. He grimaced though, his head jerking as if to get away from the voices at his ear. 'They're louder when Calamity is out,' he uttered. 'But they're not just talking about Kaya, now. They're annoyed that you didn't die, Descendant. That was a part of his plan, you know.'

'Was it part of his plan to kill my father too?' Noah asked tightly, Chaos' blade angled toward Brocard.

Brocard smiled, but his eyes slid to Kaya as he said, 'And her mother.'

Kaya's heart skipped a beat, and in that same moment she felt her blood turn to ice at Brocard's words, freezing right through the emptiness in her chest. 'You said his,' she realised. 'Do you mean to tell me that the Lord of Crime was involved in the death of our parents?'

Brocard waved a hand frivolously through the air. 'You can ask himself yourself. As for me, I've just been given new orders,' he added, lifting Calamity to point the scythe's blade at Noah. 'Since you didn't die by Calamity's curse, you'll now down by Calamity's blade.'

Brocard lunged and Noah stepped in front of Kaya, pushing her back from harm's way right before he parried the deadly scythe that swung out at him. Sparks flew between the two weapons, coloured blue and red, and despite the size of Calamity Brocard was still quick while wielding it. He pulled back, spun, and swept the scythe horizontally as if he intended to slice Noah in half.

Noah rolled forward, the scythe missing him by a hair's breadth, and sprung back to his feet in one swift move to attack Brocard with a sudden uppercut, but Brocard flicked the handle of the scythe up and blocked Chaos.

Kaya saw, for just a moment, a blue symbol wrap around the scythe's handle where Chaos bit into it. It wasn't the same as when Chaos' symbols had been slowly consumed by Brocard's power; instead, it was as if Chaos was reaching out to Calamity, if only just to touch it.

The symbol disappeared as Brocard pulled back, lashing out once more with a wide swing that had Noah reeling back. Against any other opponent the scythe would have had the advantage because of its long reach, but Noah had the wind on his side – and he barraged Brocard with a surge of it before Brocard could close in for another hit.

Brocard tumbled back across the ground, Calamity clattering beside him, and Kaya saw Noah stumble. His breathing was laboured, and even from the angle where Kaya stood she could see how pallid his skin had become; he was straining himself, both physically and magically. Considering he hadn't wielded magic in ten years, Kaya could only imagine the strain it placed on his body trying to wield it so intensely now.

Brocard gave a sudden flick of his wrist as he climbed to his feet and Kaya almost disregarded it before she caught movement out the corner of her eye. She turned to find one of the thugs Brocard had killed now stumbling through the wall of darkness toward her. His head hung low, his shoulders sagged, and he staggered heavily as if he could hardly keep himself standing. Considering she had seen him choke to death on his own blackened blood, Kaya was shocked to see him standing at all.